London - England. August 2008 will be a red letter month for fans of Elvis Presley. Amazingly it will be 40 years since the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll took to the stage in what became a milestone in televised musical performances and a career highlight, the infamous ’68 Comeback Special. To honour this very special occasion, Sony BMG Music Entertainment will release the ‘Complete ’68 Comeback Special’ 4 CD box set, featuring the whole story from the rehearsals to the finished show, out-takes and rarely-heard gems, packaged in both deluxe and standard versions.

During a career of invention and re-invention the ’68 Comeback Special is THE pivotal performance of Elvis’ career. He was back from the movie career that had kept him away from the live arena throughout most of the 60’s and what’s more he looked and sounded amazing.

This 4 disc box set will feature over 103 songs including “That’s All Right”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “One Night”, “Love Me” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”, all recorded at NBC’s Burbank Studios for a TV special which captured the ‘Guitar Man’ at his captivating best. Full track listings for all 4 Discs to follow.

4 CD Album Deluxe Edition and Standard Edition Available

40th Anniversary Celebrations

Released August 4, 2008

Also released by Sony BMG Music Entertainment on August 4 2008, Elvis’s ’68 Comeback Special Deluxe Edition DVD; containing a treasure trove of footage from what was a remarkably intimate show. 40 years on since its original broadcast, Elvis has made another comeback!

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I Think this package will be great, along with its companion the dvd deluxe edition aswell, but we have been flooded with material from the 68 comeback and now it's complete and time to move on. Now they should do the exact same thing with TTWII and ON TOUR a deluxe edition dvd set and a deluxse edition cd set. PERFECT

Why not on sacd? I have an 24.000 euro hi-fi system and it´s a real pity not having Elvis on sacd at all and we have poor sound on many releases if compare to another great icons as Sinatra, Nat King Cole and more. We want the best audio possible and Sony haves sacd for many other artist!!!!

well I guess, this is a classic for the christmas tree, a lonley island package. there ain't nothing in elvis presley's musical legacy which is of higher importance beyond the sun and the 69 memphis and vegas tracks plus ttwii. here we have the musical testament of one of the greatest entertainers ever. it was the all or nothing moment in life. I never was deeper influenced musically by anything else. the only saddening fact is that the man alive here in this incredible document would have gone forever within less than a decade. will they ever come out with something similar for his vegas comeback? are there any rehearsal tapes? wish they did it!

Jamie, I see you are yourself repeating your own comments on '68 (from the related thread!), so I will be briefer in responding. Did you ever have the original album ? You sure have little nostalgia for it and certainly fail to recognize its historic importance in rock history. Of course they are going to reprise it here - and I'm glad they did. There is an integrity to trying not to fill out the CD with every stray moment just to make it 80 minutes - which is rare anyway from official labels. The original album gets to "breathe" more this way and is not diluted.

Not all will agree but for a monumental release of its kind, it deserves to basically stand alone without getting swamped. And over the four CDs, surely the running length is generous -or will be when we see the final version in our own hands! Let's try not to pan something without having it to listen and hold in our own hands when it might just be phenomenal in the end. I've got a hunch that it's going to be a real keeper - just as Henk suggests.

Hello, I'm a little surprised by the format of this set. Discs 2 and 3 (ie, the complete Sitting Down and Standing Up shows) are essential. But isn't disc 1 misconceived? The original album is obsolete - the applause dubbed on the end of the Trouble/Guitar Man opener always was a bodge job, and the Road Medley now seems naked without the insertions of Let Yourself Go and, to a lesser extent, It Hurts Me. Moreover, much of the original album will be duplicated by the recordings on Discs 2 and 3. Even with the bonus tracks on Disc 1, it falls well short of the 80 minutes capacity of a CD. Surely, it would have been better to have dedicated Disc 1 to the big production numbers and included out-takes. Regarding Disc 4, I hope the informal nature and poor sound balance of the recordings is reflected in the overall price.

great release? YESSSS and that came from the heart.. please ignore all the negative things said about this release..and coming releases. and are we suckers for buying this release?? NOOOOOO the suckers are.. who continue to trash these release into the ground... this is truly a milestone in Elvis career, and after 40 years it still is and this release is a welcome addition to your collection, it simply looks stunning. from now on i will ignore all the negative things concerning great releases and import releases, because i'm sick of reading it all the time..it makes me yawn when reading it... this release is AWESOME

joemin: I'm all for choices. I wish the powers that be would give me (and others who may be interested) the choice to buy only disc 1 of this set. You know, the original album. Now, that I would do. I guess I'll just have to play the Japanese paper sleeve version of the original album. Which of course it isn't because it's all in mono. Whereas the U.S. original has some tracks in stereo.

Steve : You miss my point. Many young music lovers have discovered Johnny Cash recently and have made viable multiple disc career retrospectives (including a DVD for one of the expanded "prison" albums) and yes, to this day there are hard-core music lovers (at this point, mostly in their 40s and up, who still buy smartly-assembled boxsets of legendary artists. Check out catalogs like Collectors Choice and labels like Rhino Select and Hip-O: they are designed for general interest music lovers (be it James Brown or Ernest Tubb or Miles Davis) who enjoy great boxsets. They don't have to be those who even follow one artist so much - this is who was behind the "decade" boxsets' success- the type of people who subscribe to "Goldmine" in the USA and "Record Collector" in the UK.

I'm sure Sony/BMG did their market research, too. Perhaps it is just another "doorstop" and "thing for your shelf" but why the negativity? I think this is an excellent way to showcase a milestone period of his career - period. And luckily Elvis' appeal even today extends beyond those who log onto sites like "Elvisnews." So celebrate this release (assuming it's as good as it looks) and easy does it with the carping.

I am delighted with this release. For those who want everything we now have the multi-DVD set and a multi-cd set. Those who just want the highlights can have the single DVD and/or the single cd. All this does is give us choices, what could be so wrong with that??

Greg - I agree with what you said except for one statement, 'it is for general music fans'. I guarantee you not one general music fan will shell out for this, at least ones I know. You even said after millions of folks saw it in 1968 they probably forgot about it. No, this is aimed at the hardcore collector who will be enticed by the collectors aspect of it all and BMG knows there is enough of them still out there.. Its just rehashed material under a new cover. Those 'hipsters' that got into Johnny Cash did so because he recorded new material with a hip producer and it got rave reviews from all the critics. I dont think you can compare that with this release. Its a piece for your shelf and wont be played very often.

P.S. Steve: apparently it's a "lift-off lid" that is well, made of foil material ..with text on it..! It'll probably look better than the description. Let's face it: there is a fetish-like aspect to this hobby. No one "needs" this in a literal sense. Millions of Americans back in '68 watched the special on NBC , enjoyed it and haven't given it a thought since then outside of some who bought the RCA album and those who later came along to enjoy HBO's "One Night With You," and to support the videos and DVDs of the same.

But for his legacy and for the mad collector, why not? It's not another dumb colleciton of hits or love songs or Christmas songs. Let's give some credit here to Ernst Jorgensen for a smart choice of a mainstream boxset - assuming the cost isn't out of hand. This is a milestone of Elvis' career: and this set is a true celebration of this agreed-upon fact.

"Infamous" ???! What are they talking about? What an annoyingly common mis-use of this negative term. C'mon, Sony/BMG, fix that before this goes out last this year to other outlets.

That said, I applaud this set and remind skeptics that it is forgeneral music fans who have come to learn that the "68 Comeback" was a super-cool moment in Elvis' career (the same hipsters who have some how become Johnny Cash fans ), as well as die-hard fans who love to see this milestone of his career spotlighted in full fashion, as well as strategically putting a boxset before critics who still tend to under-rate Elvis' musical legacy.

For those of use who have loyally-shelled out for FTD's like "68 Burbank" and more recently "Let Yourself Go" (never mind the great 2-CD set from RCA in '98), this is a bit of a stretch in terms of our willingness to accept that the sound will be improved and packaging and notes (etc.) will make it worthwhile, but I'm up for the challenge. Sound upgrades always emerge, and I hope the same might be wrenched for these tapes.

Just as most hard-core fans Elvis welcome any revisiting of the Sun years, any revisiting of 1968 is welcome.

As a side note, the CD era for the mainstream continues to die-out so for the time being, it's great to see this stuff put out in the few remaining retail outlets. Like other Amercans (even before the rise in gasoline prices) I feel the pinch of our hobby but I'd never tell RCA or Sony/BMG to "stop it." Call us "suckers" but any upgrade puts a big ol' smile on our faces.

If not, there are always other artists for those inclined. For the rest of us, this is a release hard to resist.

More like $75.00 ++. Remember you are not only paying for the box & cd's but also the text foil. And a rare bargain at that. Just think of it Elvis does it again first artist to have text foil. Imagine that.

ron i believe itll be between 30 and 50 bucks considering its a 4 cd set. i think the last box set was a 3 cd set and sold at about 25 bucks and that was the one called hitsstory i could be wrong though. but hell 40 bucks 50 bucks its worth it its elvis in his prime id rather pay 40 bucks for something like that than another greatest hits cd thats been released a thousand times with the same track listing or another movie sound track cd that dont put the best songs on it

I will definately be buying this. I wish it were in an album sized box, but this size will allow it to be sold at retailers along with those tin cans containing other albums. Hopefully it will retail for less than $40 (USD)

Mofoca22, take it easy man. Don't get so excited. You may want to spend your money on a dictionary which may be something you could use to communicate your thoughts more clearly. Actually at this moment I am lobbying to get this 68 box set aborted. What I propose in it's place is a 4 cd Greatest Hits package. We really need another one on the market, as it's been about a week since the last one. Way too long. It seems Iv'e seen all the pictures (see above) dozens of times. For the price they are going to milk all you suckers that buy this, you think they could at least give some unreleased pics. Another big bucks project with no thought put into thr final product. Nothing special. Wait....I stand corrected just reread....by gosh you get a text foil stamped lift off lid, whatever that is. I got to get off & buy this stellar release. A text foil boy my boy.

elvislives and everyone else who cares about gas ill walk to work to buy that lol. oooh wait i already do. hehe youa ll should try it youll see how much money you save a day by doing so. if everyone starts doing it watch the gas prices come crashing down . but im so ecited about this release i dont care how much it costs im buying it as i always do with the box sets. i dont care if the stock market craches by then im buying it and hold no regrets. cuz singing seems to ease a troubled mind

there's no doubt in my mind that this will be a succes, the package looks stunning, i'm gonna buy this set for sure. sometimes it depresses me all the negative things i read, when something is released but this release is no joke..it's a winner for me for sure..and for many others as well

So then it's not a regular book style box set as we usually get. That should lower the price of it in stores. Although with gas prices at a record high, I doubt it will be a success. Gas is more important right now than buying a 4 cd set of music already released before just repackaged. This is a bad timing release by BMG. But no surprise there really.